A Pearl Travel Guides Site

Eating and Drinking in Recife

There are are a massive number of restaurant options in Recife: traditional, modern, regional and international in several price ranges: economy, moderate and luxury. Those located in Boa Viagem are easy for tourists to get to since most tourists in Recife will be in the same neighborhood. Others are located in various, mostly residential, neighborhoods not too far away. Our listing indicates the locations and gives a link to a map. To help you choose, we have categorized the listings as follows:

Bars in Recife vary a lot from large sophisticated modern bars in Boa Viagem to sidewalk bars set up by street food vendors. They also vary a lot in terms of price, ambiance and the crowd they attract.

In most areas you can find a variety, but there is a predominance of one type in some areas. For example, the bars in Boa Viagem tend to be large, modern, offer more diverse menus and attract the wealthy middle class and tourists. As a result they are also more expensive. The same is true of other wealthy residential neighborhoods.

For tourists in search of a more authentic experience, Recife Antigo and neighboring Downtown are the areas to head for. The bars in Recife Antigo are more diverse, and you can often hear live regional music, try regional food menus and, on Sunday evenings, hear the Carnival bands that practice all year round.

Downtown is where locals head to for drinks after work, so it starts early and finishes early. Music will almost certainly be regional and so will the menu. The choice of beer is usually very limited, but the prices are also lot less. The best gathering place Downtown is Patio São Pedro, an old cobblestone square in front of the magnificent São Pedro church, surrounded by bars, galleries and museums in old houses.

In all areas of the city you will find cafés. Some are clearly cafés; others are within bakeries (padarias) or patisseries. As you probably know, Brazil is famous for its coffee. If you are lucky, you will discover why; but, depending on where you are having your coffee, you could just as easily end up wondering why.